Antonstown medieval dispersed settlement 450m south east of Crew Farm

Reasons for Designation

Medieval and rural settlement in England is marked by a great diversity of form, size and type and the protection of archaeological remains needs to take these regional differences into account. To do this, England has been divided into three broad Provinces on the basis of each area's distinctive mixture of nucleated and dispersed settlements. These can further be divided into sub- Provinces and local regions, possessing characteristics which have gradually evolved during the past 1500 years or more.

This monument lies in the Cumbria-Solway sub-Province of the Northern and Western Province, an area characterised by dispersed hamlets and farmsteads but with some larger nucleated settlements in well defined agriculturally favoured areas, established after the Norman conquest. Traces of seasonal settlements, or shielings, dominate the high, wet and windy uplands, where surrounding communities grazed their livestock during the summer months. The Borders local region comprises the great slope of land between the High Cheviots and the Solway, where hamlets and scattered farmsteads predominate, and where bastles and tower houses recall the social conditions of the Anglo- Scottish borders before the mid-17th century. The eastern part of the region, containing the wastes of Bewcastle Fells and Spadeadam, can be seen as a separate subdivision; it was occupied by shieling grounds during the Middle Ages and the Tudor period, and preserves the remains of associated settlememt sites.

Antonstown medieval dispersed settlement survives well and will retain significant archaeological deposits. It is a good example of this class of monument located in the Border Region and will add greatly to our understanding of the wider border settlement and economy during the medieval period.

Details

The monument includes the earthworks and buried remains of Antonstown medieval dispersed settlement. It is located on the hillside approximately 450m south east of Crew Farm and includes the turf covered remains of two houses and two sub-rectangular stock enclosures; one of the enclosures lies to the north of Fountain Sike while the remainder of the monument is situated south of the sike.

The southern house lies with its long axis aligned east-west and measures approximately 20m by 7m externally with walls 1.2m wide and up to 0.5m high. It is subdivided into a central narrow room with larger rooms to east and west, each room being on a slightly different level because of the natural slope. The second house, with its long axis at a slight angle to the first, measures c.12m by 5m externally with walls 1.2m wide and up to 0.5m high, and is subdivided into two rooms of unequal sizes. A short distance north of the second house, and immediately south of Fountain Sike, is a stock enclosure measuring approximately 18m by 12m internally which is bounded by a turf and stone wall 1.2m wide and up to 0.8m high. There are narrow entrances at the south west and north west corners of the enclosure. On the northern side of Fountain Sike are three sides of a larger enclosure measuring c.30m by 20m which is bounded on three sides by a turf and stone wall. The enclosure's north east wall has been partly disturbed by a later field dyke while Fountain Sike appears to have formed the boundary on the enclosure's south east side. A later field dyke also crosses that part of the monument to the south of Fountain Sike. The settlement was not included in the 1839 Tithe Award and is thus thought to have been abandoned by that date.

All fenceposts and later field dykes are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

27773

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Ramm, H G, Shielings and Bastles, (1970), 49, 51

Other
AM7, Charlesworth, D, Antonstown Old Farmstead, (1973)

End of official list entry

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